Executive edge: Wayne Hutchens: avid climber aims to guide CU Foundation's ascent.

• Author: Bronikowski, Lynn
• Position: CU Foundation

Wayne Hutchens has scaled all 54 Fourteeners in Colorado, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount Elbrus in Russia and in April took on still another mountainous challenge--president and CEO of the rocky CU Foundation.

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"I knew what I was getting myself into; we had some problems both internally and externally," said the 1967 CU grad. "It's a challenge, but I want to come at it from a business standpoint, as CU is an important economic player in the state."

In 2005 Hutchens joined the CU Foundation's board in the midst of state audits that revealed poor record-keeping and misspending and ultimately forced the retirement of chief executive Michael Byram.

Hutchens brings to the table 29 years of banking experience. He oversaw a pair of mergers--Affiliated Bankshares' sale in 1992 to Bank One, and Bank One's 2004 merger with JP Morgan Chase & Co. Once the leadership transition was accomplished at Chase, Hutchens was off to pursue his dream of running a nonprofit.

"I've always seen myself working until I'm 70," said the 61-year-old former chairman of Chase Colorado. "And I knew I wanted to work in the nonprofit sector. So when the CU Foundation job came open it seemed like the right thing to do, that I might be able to have some impact, especially since I'm such an advocate of higher education in the state."

In a sense, Hutchens has come full circle, having started his career in 1969 as treasurer at the CU Foundation before going into banking in 1977.

"Now nearly 30 years later it's fun to again be associated with CU in a professional capacity," said Hutchens. He and his wife Joyce, also a CU graduate, have been...